More than once Kendall shares her own history, detailing moments from her life through adolescence in Chicago’s Hyde Park through present day. This approach leads to an impactful combined usage of statistics, research, and personal experiences. Instead, it’s meant to be read by anyone who claims they are a feminist, or anyone who wants to be a feminist. Hood Feminism is meant to be read by not just scholars and college-educated individuals.

Feminism is the work that you do, and the people you do it for who matter more than anything else” (xiii). It isn’t a matter of saying the right words at the right time. Expanding upon Kimberlé Crenshaw’s 1989 “ Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics,” in which the famed scholar, lawyer, and activist, coined the term “intersectional,” Kendall dives into today’s feminist movement to critique its focus on white women and, as a result, its perpetuation of white supremacy.įrom the start, Kendall sets up the accessibility of the text, as “the hood taught me that feminism isn’t just academic theory. “It’s not going to be a comfortable read, but it’s going to be an opportunity to learn for those who are willing to do the hard work,” Kendall writes in the introduction (Kendall, xv).

How can feminists stand in solidarity as a movement when there is a distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? Insightful, incendiary and ultimately hopeful, Hood Feminism is both an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux and also clear-eyed assessment of how to save it.Released in February 2020, Mikki Kendall’s Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot (Viking, 2020) quickly became a lauded read not just for intersectional feminists, but for all individuals. White feminists often fail to see how race, class, sexual orientation and disability intersect with gender. The fight against racism, ableism and transmisogyny are all feminist issues.

Food insecurity, the living wage and access to education are feminist issues. Essential reading' ELIZABETH GILBERTAll too often the focus of mainstream feminism is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. 'It is absolutely brilliant, I think every woman should read it' PANDORA SYKES, THE HIGH LOW'My wish is that every white woman who calls herself a feminist will read this book in a state of hushed and humble respect. Print Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot

Hood feminism book review